I just returned yesterday from ooty trip..I went for Route 2 via mysore. .drive was easy and scenic ..but road conditions are bad as soon as u enter tamil nadu...but its safe..I was also not confident I taking 36 hair pin bend route..belive me you won't regret driving extra kilometres ciz that will be compensated by lovely scenery along the route

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Hey Mayur,

Can you share details of journey, like time taken and distance from Bangalore to Ooty.

Thanks a lot guys, TFI is a great family This does inspire confidence, If route 2 is motorable without much difficulty, will be taking that else route 1 Shall update you guys once trip is done.

distance from Bangalore is 290 kms for Masinagudi route and ~325 kms for gudalur route. time taken should be approx 7 hrs thru Nh 209. add another 30 mins for gudalur route and if u take mysore road then add another 30 mins

Can you share details of journey, like time taken and distance from Bangalore to Ooty.

Thanks a lot guys, TFI is a great family This does inspire confidence, If route 2 is motorable without much difficulty, will be taking that else route 1 Shall update you guys once trip is done.

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I did 3 night 4 days trip..total kilometres 740 ...left from bangalore Rajajinagar 4.30 am to avoid traffic as it was long weekend reached mysore early so went to chamundi hills for darshan...drive upto karnataka border is very good in terms of road conditions. .as you enter Tamil nadu road are with lots of pot holes hence drive slow or u wil have to apply end moment brakes...scenery is just so good that u will enjoy whole drive of approx 7 hour from bangalore one way.

So as many here have already boosted you . Here is a boost from me as well.

1.) Stay calm. Its ooty and not the dreaded Zojila pass or the manali roads.
2.) Its just like driving on any other road except that you will be twisting the wheel a bit more than usual and that's just fun in a car like the FIAT. So very importantly have FUN when you do this.
3.) your not a novice to driving and not a novice to ghats either so take it easy nothing will happen.
4.) If you really are afraid of tackling the ghats "I urge you to go ahead and definitely do it" . No better way to conquer your fears than to actually do it.

now for the technicals.
stay in low gears (depending on the gradient and traffic try to stay in 3rd or 2nd) .
which every gear you are in try to keep the RPM in the powerband.
While descending if your not too confident in doing it fast, put the car in 2nd gear and you will coast slowly down. If you feel you can handle a bit more speed put it into 3rd .(Dont use 4th or 5th unless your 200% confident in the descent).NEVER PUT YOUR CAR IN NEUTRAL AND USE BRAKES TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN DURING DESCENT.

with this i believe you should be easily doing the ascent / descent .
All the best and keep us posted

@rituraj:
As of most of them suggested, please calm yourself. Nothing to worry about. Lineas & Puntos are good ghat drive handling cars.
I have driven Ooty 36hairpin ghats from Maruti 800/Indica XETA/Swift D/Scorpio/Punto D. It was easiest in Scorpio & Punto D and worst in Indica Xeta.
Slot in second gear and use engine braking technique without much brake use. keep it around 1700-2000rpm. Taking curvy roads is best in Punto/Linea.
Make sure occupants are light on stomach due to twisties. Dont get too much nervous if a car or any vehicle in front stops. Pick up the rpm and enjoy the drive.
Even local buses do this route.
Come back via gudalur and its more scenic in this route as well. In between try to take Kotagiri road just for the fun of good roads and less traffic.

I dont think Masinagudi one is that difficult for a linea to climb and you can do it easily.
Hill drivers are more disciplined and they give way for upcoming vehicles (beware of some outstation morons who don't know this at all).
I vouch that its a good road overall but be careful about the edges as its a narrow single lane road. Moreover thats the steepest climb towards ooty from any direction.
Enjoy the trip..

@rituraj: i never imagined linea's climbing up like a rocket in those hairpin bends during the last TFI meet definitely there is nothing to worry about as soon as you cross couple of hair pins you will experience for yourself the capability of beast, Wish you happy and safe journey buddy.

If i were you, i would be taking the route with maximum hairpins. Thats where the FIATs show off.. and boss, you have a Linea(read the ruler of Ghats). All the tips have already been provided to you. I would like to repeat a few from my side. 1. Always be on 2nd and 3rd, both uphill and downhill, and let the engine take the load. Do not touch the brakes unless absolutely necessary. 2. On uphill drive, if a heavy vehicle on your front stops, keep fair distance and always be on halfclutch on first gear, so that you can move forward or change course fast. 3. Keep the Ghat road disciplines. eg: if you approach a hairpin on your downhill, and you see an oncoming loaded heavy vehicle uphill on the curve, stop a good distance before the hairpin so that the poor soul can climb up without stopping. If you make him to stop, then probably you make another 10 vehicles behind him also stop for a good amount of time. And above all, "Enjoy the ride..!!!"